On the meridional distribution of Alytes maurus Pasteur and Bons, 1962 (Amphibia, Discoglossidae)

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12 Herpetological Bulletin [2006] - Number 96
T
HE Moroccan midwife toad Alytes maurus
Pasteur & Bons, 1962 was finally separated
from the European midwife toad Alytes
obstetricans after 41 years, and elevated to full
specific rank when it was found to be closely
related to the Betican Alytes dickhilleni and
Majorcan midwife toad Alytes muletensis (Donaire
& Bogaerts, 2003). These authors suggested the
need to study the relationships between the two
disjunct distributional ranges in the Rif and Middle
Atlas regions within Morocco, and because the
species is rare and much localized, they stressed
the need to undertake more field research to
determine its global distribution. (Map 1).
Due to its reduced distributional range (about 30
localities known in an extent of occurrence less
than 5000 km
2
) in the wettest areas of the Rif and
Middle Atlas of Morocco, Alytes
maurus has been classified as a Near
Threatened species (IUCN, 2004).
Furthermore, Mateo et al. (2003)
feared a radical reduction in the
density of the populations of the
species exposed to human activity in
the Rif Mountains.
The Middle
Atlas distribution of
the species is scarcely known as it is
based only on one observation from the 1980s (Libis,
1985) and two from the 1990s (Mellado & Mateo,
1992; Bons & Geniez, 1996). No tangible proof of its
existence has ever been shown in the form of
photographs or specimens.
Under the scope of the DAPTF SEED GRANT
2004 project:
‘Environmental characteristics and
population census of three endemic amphibians of
Morocco (North Africa): Implications for
conservation’, a field expedition to the Rif and
Middle Atlas regions was undertaken from 31
st
October until 7
th
November 2004. During the rainy
night of 4
th
November, on a track running from
Taffert to Merhaoua in the Middle Atlas region, the
first author had the opportunity to find, photograph,
measure and collect toe clips (deposited at the
MNCN Madrid tissue bank for a future genetic
On the meridional distribution of Alytes maurus Pasteur and Bons,
1962 (Amphibia, Discoglossidae)
DAVID DONAIRE-BARROSO
1
, EL HASSAN EL MOUDEN
2
, TAHAR SLIMANI
2
, and
JUAN PABLO GONZALEZ
DE LA VEGA
3
1
C/San Vicente no 3 Jerez de la Fra. C.P. 11408, Cádiz, Spain
2
Cadi Ayyad University, Faculty of Sciences, Vertebrate Biodiversity and Ecology Laboratory,
B.P. 2390, Marrakech 40 000, Morocco
3
Apdo. Correos 1209, C.P. 21080, Huelva, Spain
Map 1. Updated global distribution of
Alytes maurus Pasteur & Bons, 1962;
hollow circles based on Bons & Geniez,
1996, solid circles by Donaire &
Bogaerts, 2003 and star symbol
unedited data from the project
‘Environmental characteristics and
population census of three endemic
amphibians of Morocco’.
RESEARCH ARTICLES

Distribution of Alytes maurus
Number 96 - Herpetological Bulletin [2006] 13
analysis) of three specimens of Alytes maurus from
three different sites (one male, one female and one
juvenile; Fig.1). Locality 1 at Tizi n’Teramecht
(N33° 40’ 11.7” W 4° 7’ 29.7”, altitude 2142 m),
locality 2 and 3 at Larij Touttene (N33° 38’37.2” W
4° 12’ 50.5”, altitude 2017 m; N33 38’ 26” W 4 12’
35.2”, altitude 1688 m respectively).
These three new sites confirm and validate the
20 year-old record by Libis (1985) of Alytes at Tizi
Ouaouestra (N33° 41’ W4° 6’, altitude 2050 m)
which is very close to locality 1 (about 2 km
away), and slightly expands its distribution since
Larij Touttene (localities 2 & 3) lies about 10 km.
from Tizi Ouaouestra to the southwest, proving its
wider distribution in the area of Djebel Bou Iblane
(see Map 2).
The two Larij Touttene sites are about
500 m from each other and they represent the new
southernmost known record of the species’
distribution.
At first glance, both locations, Tizi n’Teramecht
and Larij Touttene, have different habitats
corresponding to two bioclimatic zones; the first is
a rocky criomediterranean zone devoid of forest
with only bushy thorny vegetation present and
patches of snow (as described in Libis, 1985); Larij
T
outtene is a forested oromediterranean zone of
Pinus and Quercus trees below the Cedar line.
These two locations are found within the protected
SIBE priority 1 (site of bio-ecological interest)
Jebel Bou Iblane where neither deforestation nor
human impact seem to threaten the species.
However, outside the protected area the pressure of
domestic animals, deforestation and soil erosion is
alarmingly encroaching upon this population.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Thanks to Gustavo Espargallas who accompanied
and helped the first author during the fieldwork
and to Rachid, forestry guard who kindly hosted us
during that night at Taffert. Lastly to all the
reviewers who kindly helped to improve this short
note.
REFERENCES
Bons, J. & Geniez, Ph. (1996). Anfibios y Reptiles
de Marruecos (Incluido Sáhara Occidental)
Atlas biogeográfico. Barcelona, Spain:
Asociación Herpetológica Española. 319 pp.
Donaire, D. & Bogaerts, S. (2003). Datos sobre
taxonomia, ecología y biología de Alytes maurus
(Pasteur & Bons, 1962) (Anura; Discoglossidae),
Societat Catalana de Herpetología Dic 2003.
IUCN. Conservation Internacional & NatureServe.
(2004). Global Amphibian Assessment,
Map 2. Meridional distribution of Alytes maurus at the
Djebel Bou Iblane SIBE natural park. Square = former
southern most location (Libis, 1985); other symbols =
new records presented in this note.
Figure 1. Examples of Alytes maurus found at Djebel
Bou Iblane. Top left: male from location 2; top right:
female from loc. 1; bottom centre: juvenile from loc. 3.

Attacks by predaceous diving beetles on Terecay
14 Herpetological Bulletin [2006] - Number 96
http://www. globalamphibians.org
Libis, B. (1985). Nouvelle donnée sur la
répartition au Maroc du crapaud accoucheur
Alytes maurus Pasteur et Bons 1962 (Amphibia;
Discoglossidae). Bull. Soc. Herp. Fr, 33, 52–53.
Mateo, J.A., Pleguezuelos, J.M., Fahd, S., Geniez,
Ph. & Martínez-Medina, F.J. (2003). Los Anfibios,
los Reptiles y el Estrecho de Gibraltar. Un ensayo
sobre la Herpetofauna de Ceuta y su entorno.
Instituto de Estudios Ceutíes. Ceuta. 388 pp.
Mellado J. & Mateo J.A. (1992). New records of
Moroccan Herpetofauna.
Herpetol. J. 2(2), 58–61.
Pasteur, G. & Bons, J. (1962). Note préliminaire sur
Alytes (obstetricans) maurus: gémellarité ou
polytopisme? remarques biogéographiques,
génétiques et taxonomiques. Bull. Soc. Zool. Fr. 87(1),
T
HE Dytiscidae (Insecta, Coleoptera) is a fairly
large family of beetles distributed over most
of the world. Both adults and larvae are
carnivorous, feeding on small aquatic
invertebrates (e.g. molluscs, crustaceans, insects),
while the larger species feed also on amphibians
(chiefly tadpoles) and small fish. The adults are
also scavengers, feeding on dead or injured
animals (cf. Larson
et al., 2000). Some large
Dytiscidae species have a fundamental role in the
demographic control of amphibian populations
(e.g. Ideker, 1979; Formanowicz, 1986;
Holomuzki, 1986). Moreover
, one case of
predation upon a reptile has been reported: a
neonate of Thamnophis elegans (Reptilia,
Serpentes, Colubridae) killed by a larva of
Dytiscus sp. (Drummond & Wolfe, 1981).
Two of the authors observed in the Ecuadorian
Amazon many adults of the tribe Cybistrini
(Dytiscinae) attacking young of
Podocnemis
unifilis (Reptilia, Testudines, Pelomedusidae).
Such behaviour has never been recorded, and is
the subject of this note.
The observations were made in January 1999 at
the ‘Reserva de produccion faunistica de
Cuyabeno’
(Sucumbios province) in four artificial
pools in three villages (one in Playas, two in
Zabalo and one in Zancudo) along the Aguarico
River banks. The young turtles were reared for
their first year of life in these pools, and were later
released along the rivers (headstarting) with the
aim of reducing the high natural mortality of
neonate turtles (cf. Caputo et al., 2005; Townsend
et al., 2005). The pools were specially dug
Observations of predaceous diving beetles (Insecta, Coleoptera,
Dytiscidae) attacking Terecay,
Podocnemis unifilis, (Reptilia,
Testudines, Pelomedusidae) in Ecuador
FRANCESCO PAOLO CAPUTO
1
, GIANLUCA NARDI
2
and PACO BERTOLANI
1
1,
* Dipartimento di Biologia Animale e dell’Uomo (Zoologia), Università degli Studi di Roma “La
Sapienza”, Viale dell’Università, 32. I-00185 Roma, Italy.
Email: francescopaolo.caputo@uniroma1.it
2
Centro Nazionale per lo Studio e la Conservazione della Biodiversità Forestale – Corpo Forestale
dello Stato. Strada Mantova, 29. I-46045 Marmirolo (MN), Italy. Email: l_nardi@hotmail.com
*Corresponding address: Caputo Francesco Paolo; Via Gabrio Serbelloni 115 I-00176 Roma
ABSTRACT — Cases of adults of Megadytes (Megadytes) sp. and of M. (Trifurcitus) robustus
(Insecta, Coleoptera, Dytiscidae) attacking young of Podocnemis unifilis in headstarting pools in
the Ecuadorian Amazon are recorded. The possible causes of this behaviour are briefly discussed.
Megadytes (Trifurcitus) robustus is new to Ecuador.

Attacks by predaceous diving beetles on Terecay
Number 96 - Herpetological Bulletin [2006]
15
prismatic hollows (from 12 to 20 m
2
) lined with
PVC and filled with motor pumped water from the
Aguarico River. Three pools (the two at Zabalo
and the one at Zancudo) were badly managed
(scarce food, dirty water, competition for the
basking site, excessive vegetation and mud,
overcrowding, presence of young caimans), so in
these pools the accretion of
P. unifilis after one
year was lower than that observed in the well-
managed one (Playas). Moreover many of the
turtles in the badly managed pools showed health
problems (dwarf disease, posterior legs paralysed,
etc.) (Bertolani & Caputo, unpubl. data).
The three badly managed pools were infested by
large adults of Dytiscidae. Four specimens were
collected (Zacundo, UTM 0452750 9937724, 6
th
January 1999), belonging to two species:
Megadytes (Trifurcitus) robustus (Aubé, 1838)
and Megadytes (Megadytes) sp. The first species
was represented by two males and its
identification was confirmed by examinaton of the
genitalia (cf. Tremouilles & Bachmañn, 1980;
Tremouilles, 1989). Given that
Megadytes
(Megadytes) sp. was represented by two females,
it was not possible to identify it with certainty.
Megadytes (Trifurcitus) robustus is new to
Ecuador, having been previously recorded in
Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay (cf.
Tremouilles & Bachmañn, 1980; Tremouilles,
1989).
The Cuyabeno natives named these beetles
‘bichos que chupan la tarta’ (beetles that suck the
turtle), considering them to be hematophage
animals. For this reason they were eliminated by
the people responsible for the pools, albeit
somewhat haphazardly.
Dytiscidae, including those collected, were
observed attached to turtles’
inner thighs, close to
the conjunction of the carapace and plastron. Their
grip was so tight that even removing the turtle
from the water, did not loosen it. All the turtles
thus observed (from 4.4 to 4.7 cm in plastron
length) were moribund (probably due to poor
environmental conditions) and died shortly
afterwards, despite the removal of the insect.
Dytiscidae were never observed eating dead
turtles, though this may be due to the fact that
corpses were removed from the pools as soon as
they were seen. Both dytiscid species belong to the
tribe Cybistrini, which includes some of the largest
members of the family. No literature data are
available on the feeding behaviour of the collected
species, but it is known that other congeneric
species (Tucker, 1940; Motta & Uieda, 2004) and
those of the close genus
Cybister Curtis, 1827 are
predators of small vertebrates (e.g. Goidanich,
1943; Ideker, 1979; Johnson
et al., 2003) or
scavengers (Johnson & Jakinovich, 1970). Our
observations suggest that also
Megadytes
(Trifurcitus) robustus and Megadytes (Megadytes)
sp. are predaceous of small vertebrates. The
observed attacks on turtles are very probably
attributable to the abundance of prey and to their
bad health; similar situations have been observed
also in fish-breeding (cf. Larson
et al., 1990; Balke
et al., 2004).
We suppose that similar behaviour occurs also
in nature. This would take place during the dry
season when some turtles, due to falling water
levels, are confined to isolated muddy, low-
oxygen pools (Vogt & Soini, in press). In a such
situation availability of food may be reduced,
exposing the young turtles to risk of Dytiscidae
attack.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Thanks are due to Fernando Pederzani for help
with the Dytiscid identifications.
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garter snake, Thamnophis elegans (Reptilia:
Serpentes: Colubridae). Coleopt. Bull. 35,
121–124.
Formanowicz, D.R. Jr
. (1986).
Anuran

Attacks by predaceous diving beetles on Terecay
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